by Suri Brawl
photo: Danforth Johnson
In what was the culmination of a long weekend of high-level roller derby during the Thin Air Throw Down, the Gotham Girls met the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls in a double-header on May 11, Mother’s Day Sunday, at the Fillmore Auditorium.
5280 Fight Club vs. Gotham Girls All Stars
In the first game of this double header, the WFTDA ranked #1 Gotham Girls All Stars faced off against #8 Rocky’s A Team, 5280 Fight Club. These two teams met last year, when Gotham’s All Stars defeated Rocky in their 41st straight WFTDA win, 216-99 in Asheville during the Division 1 playoffs. In fact, three-time world champions Gotham Girls have been on an unbroken winning streak for 3 ½ years, last defeated 113-79 by Rocky during 2010 Championships.
Gotham wasted no time gaining lead, using the powerful jammer one-two punch of Bonnie Thunders and Suzy Hotrod for the first several jams. Thunders drew first blood for Gotham, and five minutes into the bout the score was 24-3. Rocky had early penalty trouble with jammer Sweet Mary Pain drawing an early back block call, and by jam 6 the score was 34-6 in Gotham’s favor. Gotham rotated in Misty Maiven and Vicious Van GoGo, and despite heavy hits from Rocky blockers Assaultin’ Pepa, Bob Loblaw and Tootsie Roller, the Rocky walls seemed unable to hold Gotham’s relentless jammers and effective offense. Halftime found Rocky jammer Alpha Q. Up in the box, with the score at 121-26 thanks to contributions from fellow Rocky jammers Sweets and Phantom Menace as well.
The second half started with Sweets on the line with Bonnie Thunders, who quickly racked up another 4 points for Gotham. Tight, fierce defense from Winona Fighter and Barbie Boop helped hold Hotrod long enough in a subsequent jam for Sweets to pull the score up to 39 for Rocky. With help from strong Gotham blockers Sexy Slaydie and Mick Swagger pounding Rocky jammers, Thunders and Maiven took leads in the next few jams- then Toxic Taunic was able to turn the tide for Rocky by snatching lead from Bonnie Thunders, forcing a 0-0 jam. Sweets followed suit against GoGo, with only 20 minutes left in the bout. Incredible offense from Bob Loblaw then helped Alpha fight her way out of the pack, bringing Rocky’s score up to 44 against Gotham’s 176. Sweet Mary Pain made the most of a power jam with Misty Maiven in the box, making the score 188-53 with less than 14 minutes left in the bout.
The last quarter of the game saw a parade of Rocky’s players in the penalty box. Despite an effective star pass to Triple Shot Misto, and a power jam for Rocky jammer Uber Alice– who forced a cut on Maiven and brought the score to 64 from 56- the bout ended at 246-64 in Gotham’s favor.
photo: Danforth Johnson
Contenders vs. Wall Street Traitors
The Rocky Mountain Rollergirls Contenders’ first bout against Gotham’s B Team, the Wall Street Traitors, was a much closer and more explosive match, showcasing the very high caliber of players even on these leagues’ B Teams. Rocky scored first, with 7 points in the first jam. Then Gotham’s Cork Rebel stepped up to the line against legendary Rocky player She Who Cannot Be Named, and grabbed 3 points for Gotham. Rocky jammers ShredHer Wheats, Gator Dunn, and Juska helped hammer away at Gotham with mainly single pass but consistent jams, while blockers like Bones Patrol, Frak Attack, and Rowdy Rothbomb held tight and effective walls against Gotham jammers Bruzin’ Brody, Flo It All and Em Dash.
A power jam in Gator’s favor brought the score to 49-8 in Rocky’s favor as the bout continued to gain in intensity and physicality. Despite a track cut by ShredHer sending her to the box, Gotham’s Cork Rebel stayed hung up on Rocky defense, and Rocky maintained a lead of 56-23. Brody fought ferociously for every point as she brought Gotham up to 31.
The tide turned in the next jam, seeing two Rocky blockers and the jammer headed to the box as Gotham seized the opportunity to bring the score to a tie at 56-56. DARYL changed the lead to 58-56, and Gotham’s jammers proceeded to rack up the same series of low-scoring but consistent score increases that Rocky’s jammers did in the beginning of the game. Despite a huge apex jump from Juska winning Rocky another 4 points and fierce defense from Contenders blockers like derby wife pair Bijou Blacnbleu and Alex Terminateu, the half ended at 67-60 Gotham.
The second half began with the excitement of three rapid-fire lead changes, then another tie at 82-82. Bones Patrol and Smack and DeckHer served up huge hits on Gotham jammers, as She Who brought the lead back to Rocky at 104-84 for the last time. Rocky walls began to disintegrate in the second half, allowing Gotham’s jammers to push the front of the pack out of play, while team penalty trouble and a reliance on passive offense kept Rocky’s jammers from maximizing scoring time during power jams. Gotham regained lead for the rest of the bout, bringing this exciting and extremely physical match to a close at 159-122.
